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Tinos, Greece: offerings to give to the Virgin according to the part of the body she healed In 1822 a nun named Pelagia had a vision of an icon of the Virgin Mary buried in a certain spot. No one believed her, so she dug there herself and found the icon of the Virgin Mary which today is kept in the church of the Annunciation. It was thought of as a sign of victory, since Tinos had just won independence. The church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary is the most important pilgrimage site in Greece. It was built in 1831 to house the miraculous icon Pelagia found. Thanks to Stella, we were at the church for the annual festival of the icon, when the icon is carried down from the church through the town to the ocean and back. Pilgrims come from all over Greece for this festival, bearing candles to give as offerings. The candles are supposed to be as high as the pilgrims bearing them, and along the street leading up to the church we saw many shops selling candles of varying heights for pilgrims to buy. The shops also had other offerings, and tokens for requesting help from the Virgin for various ailments. Every time the Virgin is removed from the church She gets royal treatment and is accompanied by an honor guard of soldiers. Symbolic objects showing miracles attributed to the Virgin are hung all over the church under the oil lamps.